Hair Track for Use on a Wearer

ABSTRACT

Embodiments herein may relate to a hair track for covering at least a portion of a wearer&#39;s head or other body portions. The hair track may include a base formed from a lace or other material. The base may include a top side portion for receiving hair strands, both natural and synthetic, and a bottom side portion, which may be secured to a wearer&#39;s head. The hair strands may he secured to the base via one or more fasteners. A transparent or transparent-like quality of the lace material, as well as other features, may contribute to an authentic appearance of the hair track, even when a wearer&#39;s naturally attached hair is pulled away from or separated from the base of the hair track.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments herein relate generally to hair products and relate moreparticularly to hair products for adding hair to a wearer's head orother body portions using a transparent or transparent-like base toprovide an authentic appearance of the hair addition.

BACKGROUND

Synthetic hair extensions or similar hair products may provide a naturalappearance of hair for a person wearing such an extension or product.The extensions may be used to conceal damaged, thinning, or missing hearon a person's head. Existing hair extensions, however, may be limited intheir use due to their susceptibility to being detected by viewers ofthe hair extensions. As an example, existing hair extensions may includea track or a portion of the hair extension used to secure synthetic hairand attach the synthetic hair to a wearer's head. To provide suchsecuring and attachment, existing tracks in hair extension products maybe a solid material having little or no transparency, which may make thetracks prone to detection by viewers of the hair extension. Due to thelimited (e.g., visible) characteristics of existing hair extensions, awearer may be limited in how the wearer may use the hair extension. Forexample, a wearer may have to wear the hair extension such that thetrack portion may be hidden by natural hair to provide a naturalappearance of the hair extension. Such a requirement, however, may limita wearer's options when using hair extensions. Thus, a more versatile,authentic-looking hair product solution is highly desirable.

SUMMARY

Some or all of the above needs and/or problems may be addressed bycertain embodiments of the disclosure. Certain embodiments may include ahair track and associated methods. According to one embodiment, there isdisclosed a hair track for covering at least a portion of one or moresurfaces of a wearer. The hair track may include a base that has a topportion and a bottom portion. The hair track may be configured to shapeto the one or more portions of a wearer's body, and wherein the basecomprises a lace material. The hair track may further include aplurality of hair strands that are secured to the base via one or morefasteners. At least a portion of the bottom portion of the base contactsthe one or more portions, and at least a portion of the top portionreceives the plurality of hair strands.

According to another embodiment, a method for making a hair track isdisclosed. The method may include sizing a lace material for use on awearer's head, wherein the sizing comprises cutting away at least aportion of the lace material, wherein the lace material comprises a basefor receiving a plurality of hair strands: securing the plurality ofhair strands to the lace material; and applying a weight to theplurality of hair strands and the base to facilitate securing theplurality of hair strands to the base.

According to a further embodiment, another hair track is disclosed. Thehair track may include a base comprising a lace material and a pluralityof hair strands secured to the base via one or more fasteners.

Certain implementations will now be described more fully below withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which various implementationsand/or aspects are shown. However, various aspects may be implemented inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theimplementations set forth herein: rather, these implementations areprovided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and willfully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The detailed description is set forth with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale. The use of the samereference numbers in different figures indicates similar or identicalitems.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example configuration of a hair track, accordingto an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a hair track in use on a wearer's head, according toan embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 a illustrates a hair track on a wearer's head as viewed from afront perspective of a wearer's head, according to one embodiment of thedisclosure.

FIG. 3 b illustrates a hair track on a wearer's head as viewed from arear perspective of the wearer's head, according to one embodiment ofthe disclosure.

FIG. 3 c illustrates the effectiveness of utilizing a hair track on awearer's head, according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates a base that may be used for receiving hair strands,according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A hair track may be used to add hair to a wearer to provide an authenticappearance of the hair addition by making it more difficult for the hairaddition to be detected by viewers. As used herein, a wearer may referto a person who uses a hair track on any portion of the wearer's body,such as, but not limited to, a wearer's head or face.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example hair track 100 that may be used on awearer. The hair track 100 may include a base 102 to which hair strands104 may be secured. The base 102 may include at least a top side portionand an opposing bottom side portion. As used herein, the bottom sideportion may contact a wearer's head or other portion of the wearer'sbody, whereas the top side portion may not contact a wearer's head orother such portion. According to this configuration, the top sideportion may receive the hair strands 104. FIG. 1 depicts an illustrationof the hair track 100 in which the bottom side portion of the base 102(i.e., the portion of the base 102 that contacts a wearer's head) isshown. The hair strands 104 may extend downward from the base 102, asshown in FIG. 1.

In one embodiment, the base 102 may be comprised of a transparentmaterial that may allow a wearer's skin or otherwise a surface of awearer's body underneath the base 102 to be seen when viewed from thetop portion of the base 102. In another embodiment, the base 102 may becomprised of a porous material or other material that may have holes,e.g., minute holes, through which air or liquid may pass. Such pores mayexist in FIG. 3, e.g., pores 103. In one embodiment, as will bediscussed in greater detail below, the hair strands 104 may be securedto the base 102 and may be inserted into the pores 103. According tothis embodiment, the hair strands may be sized according to the diameterof the pores 103 such that the hair strands 104 may fit snugly into thepores 103. In some embodiments, the hair strands 104 may not fit intothe pores 103 but may be secured to a solid portion of the base 102, aswill be discussed in greater detail below. In these embodiments, thelabel 103 in FIG. 1 may represent points where at least a portion of thehair strands 104, e.g., the tip of the hair strands 104, contact thebase 102. In some embodiments, the portion of the hair strands 104 suchas the tip may pass through the base 102 and may be secured to thebottom side portion of the base 102 to provide a more secure fit. Inthese embodiments, the label 103 may represent the actual portion of thehair strands 104 such as the tip as viewed from the bottom side portionafter passing through the base 102.

The base 102 may have a left edge 106, a bottom edge 108, a top edge110, and a right edge 112, as shown in FIG. 1. In this way, the base 102may be generally rectangular. Various other shapes of the hair based 102may exist in other embodiments, such as, but not limited to, generallytriangular, generally circular, generally square, generally trapezoidal,generally octagonal, or generally other shapes having various numbers ofsides such that the base 102 may be customized to cover balding portionsof a wearer's head or other body portions, in one embodiment. The edges106, 108, 110, and 112 may not be straight edges even when a generallyrectangular base 102 is used. The edges may change widths, e.g., asmeasured from the bottom edge 108 to the top edge 110, when moving fromleft to right along the base 102. Similarly, the left edge 106 and theright edge 112 may change length, e.g., as measured from the left edge105 to the right edge 112, when moving from top to bottom along the base102. Such characteristics, along with the transparent and/or porouscharacteristics of the base 102, may give the base 102, and hence thehair track 100, a more authentic and less structural or mechanicalappearance.

In certain embodiments, the base 102 may be a lace material. Lace may bedescribed as a netlike ornamental fabric made of threads. Lace may be anopenwork fabric, patterned with open holes in the material. In this way,a lace material used herein may be breathable such that air may passthrough the top side portion to the bottom side portion of the hairtrack 100. When worn, such breathable lace material may allow air topass through to the wearer's head or other body portions. In oneexample, the lace used, to form the base 102 may be created by looping,twisting, or braiding multiple threads to one another from a backingfabric. The threads used in the lace may be different types including,but not limited to, cotton, linen, silk, gold, or silver. In someembodiments, the threads used to form the lace may be formed with a finecopper or silver wire instead of thread. The lace material may beporous, transparent, and/or transparent-like in various embodiments.Various materials other than lace may be used in other embodiments. Suchmaterials may include, but are not limited to, cloth, sateen, cotton,silk, polyester, or other materials having similar qualities,characteristics, and/or features to lace materials or the aforementionedmaterials, as well as materials that may not share such attributes.

The base 102 may have different shapes, sizes, or dimensions than thatshown in FIG. 1. In an example embodiment, the base 102 may have a widthof approximately one-quarter inch. In another example embodiment, thewidth may be approximately one-half inch. The width of the base 102 maybe indicated by the distance 112 shown in FIG. 1. In some embodiments,the width may be significantly wider and longer to cover larger portionsof a wearer's head or other body portions.

The base 102 may be constructed from a flexible material such that itmay be shaped along the natural contours of a wearer's head or otherbody portions. In this way, the base 102 may not be bulky or raised fromthe surface of a wearer's head or other body portions. Additionallyand/or alternatively, the flexible material may be cut such thatportions of it may be removed to provide variable widths, lengths,and/or thicknesses to accommodate various uses of the hair track 100.Additionally, the material used for the base 102 may bemoisture-repellant, reinforced, or otherwise durable such that it may bewashed and may maintain its texture, form, resiliency, composure, and/orits original form, in certain embodiments. A porous base 102 materialmay facilitate such characteristics, in one embodiment.

The hair strands 104 may be natural or synthetic hair strands, accordingto various embodiments. Any number, length, thickness, or otherdimension of the hair strands 104 may exist in various embodiments.According to some embodiments, natural hair strands 104 may be used toprovide a more authentic appearance of the hair track than synthetichair strands. Similar to the base 102, the natural hair strands 104 maybe durable such that the hair track 100 may be washed or otherwise mayendure water, moisture, or other elements that may distort theappearance and/or operability of the hair track 100. Synthetic hairstrands may include various types of materials according to variousembodiments.

The hair strands 104 may be secured to the base 102 using variousfasteners. As used herein. “secured,” “secured to,” or generally the actof securing can mean attaching, joining, or binding the hair strands 104to the base 102. Examples of fasteners that may be used to secure thehair strands 104 may include, but are not limited to, stitches, clips,glue, tape, or other adhesive substances. According to variousembodiments, the hair strands 104 may be secured to the top portion orthe bottom portion (e.g., the portion contacting the wearer's head orother surface) of the band 102. When secured to the bottom portion, thehair strands 104 may be inserted through pores, openings, or holes(e.g., pores 103) in the band 102. Such pores or openings may exist in alace material.

FIG. 2 illustrates the hair track 100 when viewed from the top sideportion of the base 102, or the portion that may not contact a wearer'shead or other body portion. The base 102 of the hair track 100 may notbe visible or may be difficult to detect, as indicated in FIG. 2, byvirtue of the transparent, transparent-like, or porous nature of thebase 102 (e.g., as provided by a lace material). Thus, as shown in FIG.2, the base 102 is covered by the hair strands 104, which as noted, maybe secured to the base 102. Thus, as shown in FIG. 2, the base 102 maynot visible (or may be less visible) when viewed from the top sideportion of the base 102.

At least some of the hair strands illustrated in FIG. 2 may be the hairstrands 104 secured to the hair base 102 of the hair track 100. Suchhair strands 104 may exist among the wearer's natural hair in a fashionthat may make it difficult to determine that the hair track 100 isinstalled on the wearer's head. According to one embodiment, at leastbecause the hair track 100 may be formed from a lace material, or asimilar transparent-like or porous material, the hair track 100 mayreveal a wearer's skin when viewing the top side portion of the base102.

FIG. 3 a illustrates a front view of a hair track 100 installed on awearer's head. Dotted line are shown in FIG. 3 to indicate edges of thebase 102. The lines are dotted to indicate that the base 102 of the hairtrack 100 may not be visible to viewers, according to configurationshown in FIG. 3 a, in one example. Similarly, FIG. 3 b illustrates arear view of a hair track 100 installed on a wearer's head. As shown inFIG. 3 c, the hair track 100 according to certain embodiments herein mayallow a wearer to pull away the wearer's naturally attached hair fromthe base 102 of the hair track 100 such that the base 102 is not coveredby such naturally attached hair. As will be discussed below, the hairtrack 100 thus may provide a wearer with additional options for wearingthe hair track 100.

The benefits associated with embodiments herein may include, but are notlimited to, isolating or separating the hair track 100 from a wearer'snaturally attached hair such that the wearer may have more flexibleoptions for styling the wearer's hair. As shown in FIG. 3 c, thewearer's naturally attached hair may be placed in a pony tail andextended at an angle above the wearer's head, thereby exposing the base102 and hair strands 104 of the hair track 100. In existing hairextension products and other products, the hair extension may be moreeasily detected when a wearer's hair is pulled away in the marinerdescribed above and therefore may prevent a wearer who desires a moreauthentic hair appearance from separating naturally attached hair awayfrom the hair extension.

FIG. 4 depicts a base 102 that may be used for receiving hair strands,according to an embodiment of the disclosure. As described above, thebase 102 may have one or more pores 103. In one embodiment, at least aportion of the portions 103 may receive hair strands 104. In someembodiments, no pores 103 may exist in base 102. According to theseembodiments, the base 102 may be a solid material. The solid materialmay receive the hair strands 104 on a surface of the base 102. In someembodiments, the base 102 may be a solid transparent, transparent-like,or other material. Such a base 102 may be comprised of a lace material.As noted, a porous base 102 may also comprise a lace material.

A hair track 100 may be manufactured in various ways. In one embodiment,the base 102 may be formed by shaping lace material according to adesired size and/or dimension by using a cutting tool, such as a knifeor scissors. Glue, tape, or other adhesive substances may be added tothe base 102 for securing the hair strands 104 to the base 102. Beforeor after such securing, the hair strands 104 may be adjusted, e.g., viacutting at least a portion of the hair strands 104 away to modify thelength. At least a portion of the hair strands 104, e.g., the tip, or asuitable amount of a portion of the hair strands 104 sufficient forsecuring the hair strands to the base 102, may be placed in contact withthe base 102 having thereon the glue, tape, or other adhesive substance.A weight or suitable substance may be used to apply pressure to the hairstrands 104 while they are in contact with the base 102 so that the hairstrands 104 may be secured quickly (relative to the absence of suchpressure) and accurately, in certain embodiments. In some embodiments,stitches may be used to secure the hair strands 104 to the base 102.According to these embodiments, a stitch or loop may secure the hairstrands 104 to the base 102.

In another embodiment, the hair track may be manufactured by insertinghair strands 104 in the pores 103 of the base 102. In one example, thehair strands may fit snugly into the base 102 and may be secured on thebottom side portion of the base 102. According to this embodiment, hairstrands 104 may first be selected. A diameter or thickness of the hairstrand 104 may be determined based on a diameter of the pores 103. Inone embodiment, the thickness of the hair strands 104 may be the same,slightly less than, or slightly greater than the diameter of the pores103 to provide the snug fit. The hair strands may be pressed through thepores 103 of the base 102 using a utensil, such as a needle. A needlemay also be used in other embodiment to insert hair strands 104 into abase 102 independent of the pores 103. In these embodiments, the needlemay create a sufficient opening for the hair strands 104 to pass throughthe base 102. Returning to the present example of making the hair track100, after hair strands 104 have been inserted into the pores orotherwise inserted through the base 102, at least a portion of the hairstrands 104 may be secured to the bottom side portion of the base 102.Various securing mechanisms may be used to provide such securing. Forexample, the portions or tips of the hair strands inserted through thebase 102 may be adhered to the base 102 via glue, tape, or otheradhesive substances. In another example, the hair strands 104 may bestitched to the bottom side portion of the base 102. Each hair strand104 may be secured to the base 102 in this or similar fashion atdifferent points along the portion or portions of the base 102. In oneembodiment, after the hair strands 104 are secured to the base 102, thebase 102 and/or the hair strands 104 may be cut and/or customized to fita wearer's needs, e.g., to cover a particular balding area of thewearer's head or body portion.

The hair track 100 may be utilized by securing it to a wearer's head viavarious fasteners as described above. The hair track may be placed on awearer's head or a portion of the wearer's face, such as the wearer'sbeard, mustache, as well as other body parts to which a wearer maydesire to add hair, and secured thereto via one or more of the fastenersdescribed herein. In one example, a user may place his hands on eitherside of the hair track 100 and overlay it onto a balding portion of awearer's head, in one example. In one embodiment, the hair track 100 maybe shaped generally to cover the balding portion of the wearer's head.Glue, stitches, or other fasteners as described herein may be placed onone side, e.g., the bottom side portion of the hair track 100 such thatwhen the hair track 100 is placed onto a wearer's head or other bodyportion, the hair track 100 may be secured to the wearer's head or otherbody portion.

According to various embodiments, any wearer who may require theaddition of hair to their body portions for extended durations withoutthe hair addition significantly losing its composure or originalappearance. The hair track 100 may provide such benefits in the way thatit may be durable and may not require frequent replacement relative toexisting hair extensions or similar products. In addition to humans, thehair track 100 may also be used to cover portions of an animal that maybe experiencing thinning or missing hair, as examples. Various otheruses of the hair track 100 may exist in other embodiments.

It should be understood that the foregoing relates only to certainembodiments of the invention, which are presented by way of examplerather than limitation. Numerous changes may be made to the embodimentsdescribed herein without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention. Many other modifications, features, and embodiments of thepresent invention will become evident to those of skill in the art.

1. A hair track for concealing at least a portion of one or moreportions of a wearer, the hair track comprising: a base comprising a topportion and a bottom portion, wherein the base is configured to shape tothe one or more portions, and wherein the base comprises a lacematerial; and a plurality of hair strands secured to the base via one ormore fasteners; wherein at least a first portion of the bottom portionof the base contacts the one or more portions and at least a secondportion the top portion receives the plurality of hair strands.
 2. Thehair track of claim 1, wherein the base comprises a transparentmaterial.
 3. The hair track of claim 1, wherein the base comprises aporous material.
 4. The hair track of claim 1, wherein the one or moreportions comprise a wearer's head.
 5. The hair track of claim 1, whereinthe one or more portions comprises at least one of a wearer's facialportions.
 6. The hair track of claim 1, wherein the fasteners compriseat least one of stitches, one or more clips, glue, tape, or an adhesivesubstance.
 7. The hair track of claim 1, wherein the plurality of hairstrands comprise natural hair.
 8. The hair track of claim 1, wherein theplurality of hair strands comprise synthetic hair.
 9. The hair track ofclaim 1, wherein the base is approximately one-quarter inch in width.10. The hair track of claim 1, wherein the base is approximatelyone-half inch in width.
 11. A method for making a hair track, the methodcomprising: sizing a lace material for use on a wearer's head, whereinthe sizing comprises cutting away at least a portion of the lacematerial, wherein the lace material comprises a base for receiving aplurality of hair strands; securing the plurality of hair strands to thelace material; and applying a weight to the plurality of hair strandsand the base to facilitate securing the plurality of hair strands to thebase.
 12. The method of claim 9, wherein the plurality of hair strandscomprise at least one of natural hair or synthetic hair.
 13. The methodof claim 9, wherein the securing comprises applying a fastener to attachthe plurality of hair strands to the base.
 14. The method of claim 9,wherein the fasteners comprise at least one of stitches, glue, tape, oran adhesive substance.
 15. A hair track comprising: a base comprising alace material; and a plurality of hair strands secured to the base viaone or more fasteners.
 16. The hair track of claim 15, wherein the lacematerial comprises at least one of a transparent material or a porousmaterial.
 17. The hair track of claim 15, wherein the hair trackcomprises a top side portion and a bottom side portion, wherein theplurality of hair strands are secured to the bottom side portion, theplurality of hair strands inserted through the top side portion, whereinthe bottom side portion contacts a portion of a wearer's body.
 18. Thehair track of claim 15, wherein the plurality of strands are secured tothe base via glue.
 19. The hair track of claim 15, wherein the pluralityof strands are secured to the base via stitches.
 20. The hair track ofclaim 15, wherein the plurality of strands comprises at least one ofnatural hair or synthetic hair.